Abstract This proposal requests funds to support an international symposium on ?Structural Basis of Electrical Signaling in the Heart and the Nervous System?, the 73rd Annual Symposium of the Society of General Physiologists (SGP). The Symposium will be held at Valparaiso, Chile on September 4th-7th, 2019. The SGP annual symposium has an established reputation as the leading meeting for physiologists, cell biologists, and biophysicists spanning across all career stages and professional arenas. Each year the meeting topic is unique, chosen to highlight emerging topics of interest. This symposium will be unique as it will be organized in collaboration with the Latin American Society of Biophysics (SOBLA). SOBLA is a scientific society aimed toward strengthening biophysical research among Hispanic investigators in the US and Latin America. For the first time in its history, the SGP has agreed to locate its annual meeting outside of Woods Hole, MA, in recognition of its long-standing relationship with Hispanic scientists in the US and abroad. Notably, 55% of the confirmed speakers are women and/or under-represented minority individuals. This meeting is poised to be a unique scientific event presenting novel and cutting-edge research in the study of membrane excitability. The symposium will emphasize four central themes: (1) identification of novel physiological roles for ion channels, (2) ion channel function in established disease models, (3) molecular basis of intercellular communication, and (4) imaging techniques in ion channel function and excitability. These topics represent an integration of membrane physiology from molecular to whole organism levels with a special emphasis on human disease-associated mutations. The symposium will consist of a combination of talks, poster sessions and round tables. We have 25 invited speakers, which include both early-career and established investigators. Another unique aspect of this conference is that it provides an ideal setting to foster discussions between early-stage and senior scientists. The meeting expects approximately 250-300 attendees, with more than 80% at the early-stage level (student, post-doc, early-career). The location of the meeting allows for scientists at all levels to interact, fostering scientific discussions as peers. The overarching goal of the meeting is to inspire young investigators and to communicate new and significant ideas essential to the advancement of human health and treatment of disease. It will also encourage scientists and trainees from both US and Latin America to exchange professional and cultural experiences to create a better and trusted global scientific community.